Last year the cops showed up at Freak Out Beast (吵年獸) in Shida park (師大公園) and told organizer Jerry Fang (方宜正) to turn the music down.
So this year Fang and company are moving the festival to the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in Ximending where they can crank the volume up.
Freak Out Beast is an annual indie-music concert and design fair held by a loosely organized group of musicians and artists to give people a chance to party or just mingle during the Lunar New Year holiday, which traditionally is the most boring time of the year for anyone who wants to hear live music or hang out with people who aren’t relatives. Admission is free, the vibe is laid-back and with dozens of bands and DJs scheduled to perform it offers a great opportunity to catch up on the current state of Taipei’s underground music scene.
The name Freak Out Beast references the traditional practice of hanging red lanterns and setting off firecrackers to scare away the Year Monster, or Nian, (年獸), who according to myth emerges from the ocean on Lunar New Year’s Eve and enters villages to eat humans and their livestock.
This year’s lineup includes three-dozen live acts ranging from garage bands Rabbit Is Rich (兔子很有錢) and White Eyes (白目) to rappers Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) and Shorty to moody punks 88 Balaz (八 十 八顆芭樂籽) and pretty-boy rockers New Yorker (紐約客). There will be a DMC turntablist competition on Feb. 1 at 2pm, as well as dozens of stalls run by artists throughout the festival selling everything from handmade plush toys and T-shirts with original designs to embroidered bags and plastic knickknacks. Many of these young designers operated booths at the recent 2008 Urban Simple Life (簡單生活節) festival, which was inspired in part by events like Freak Out Beast and Campo Life Art Carnival (CAMPO生活藝術狂歡節).
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
RSS